Ugly Duckling
by Sullen Shadowhawk
Summary: Hermione is tired of being one of the guys so she enlists the help of Parvati and Lavender. Can she land a guy by the Helios Ball at the end of term?
1. Prelude The Crush of the Century

Hey everyone in the fandom! This idea came into my head while I was talking to my twin brother. I just got inspired for no reason to write about Hermione wanting to be wanted... making her just like me! So yeah, there you go...deal with it.  
  
I don't own it blah, blah, whah, whah, yeah, yeah, yeah.  
  
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Ugly Duckling   
  
Prelude- The Crush of the Century  
  
So everyone knows all about Harry Potter. They even know all about the Weasley family. They know all about the battles that "The Golden Trio," as they call us, have fought to defeat Lord Voldemort time and time again. I am the only person nobody knows much about. I am Hermione Granger. The youngest daughter of muggle dentists Donna and Charles Granger, and the "smart one" of my group of friends. I never do anything unexpected or out of the ordinary and I mostly watch other people live their lives.   
  
That's how I began to notice Harry acting funny over Easter holiday. We all went to Number 12, Grimmauld Place to spend our mini break. We were staying with Sirius, Professor Lupin, The Weasley's, and the object of the crush of the century: Nymphadora Tonks. Ron spent most of the days writing letters to his Ravenclaw girlfriend, Kenji, and Ginny was always out playing Quidditch with Fred and George, so naturally, I was the one Harry turned to for help.   
  
"Hermione, I have something that I can't keep to myself any longer." I watched him patiently; I had a feeling I knew what he would tell me. "I think I'm in love." I nodded my head. I already knew that, but I could only speculate as to who it would be. "Well, Harry, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seen the pieces falling together. I already knew that." Harry stared incredulously, "you KNEW? And you didn't tell me this? You knew that I was in love with Tonks?" I laughed as the realization slipped into place that he had just told me who she was.   
  
So, for the rest of my Easter holiday, I listened to Harry's comments on just how wonderful Tonks really was. How pretty she looked when her hair was pink and spiky, or how much she knew about Quidditch, or even something as simple as the way her hips swayed when she walked in short robes. It was all I ever heard. Ron, along with everyone else, was completely clueless. I didn't really know why then, but it bothered me that Harry was always telling me about his girl problems. Then, the night before we went back to Hogwarts to finish our fifth year, it dawned on me. I didn't like hearing about Harry's romantic problems because I was only one of the boys to him. Nobody thought about me that way. Viktor had seen something, and that had felt wonderful, but everyone else seemed oblivious to the fact that I, Hermione 'Genius' Granger, was a girl. A girl, I might add, that was slowly beginning to realize just how attracted to boys I was. It was time to make a change. I would no longer be an ugly duckling.   
  
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Okay well, I hope you enjoyed reading that! I'm going to have a pole... other than Harry, Ron, or any Slytherin, who do you want to see Hermione hook up with: Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, Viktor Krum, Fred Weasley, or George Weasley? Please review and keep reading. Oh, Singled Out: Hogwarts Style is going to be completed shortly and followed by a sequel called Loser's Day Parade. Asta Teagan Gnosis 


	2. Chapter 1 The breakdown

Okay people just a few quick notes this time- this chapter jumps around from person to person but I think it should still be pretty simple to follow. Oh, there'll be a few red herrings in this story but I might have changed my mind about the Malfoy thing, thanks to Mollywood, the holder of the first review. Thanks reviewing. You won't know who she's going with until the night of the Helios Ball.  
  
Yeah, okay, if I own Harry Potter than I'm also Avril Lavigne!  
  
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Chapter One- The Breakdown   
  
The morning we headed back to Hogwarts, I took my leave of the boys and sat with some female Gryffindors that were, to say the least, surprised to see me with them. Parvati seemed astonished beyond all reason and her boyfriend, Dean, placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Get lost, Granger? Harry's in the compartment right behind us." Lavender informed me. "No, actually. I was hoping I might sit with you today." I smiled as politely as I could as they all scanned over me, wanting my true intentions. "Sure, Hermione. Come on, sit over here by me." Parvati said. I sighed in relief. "Thanks for letting me join you." I said and they all glanced nervously around. "Did you have a fight with the boys?" Dean asked kindly, but it upset me nonetheless. "That's just it! I don't want to be thought of as one of the boys! I am a girl, damn it, and I want to be recognized as one! That's actually a part of the reason I came here. Parvati, Lavender, would you help me?"  
  
:::::: Parvati's POV ::::::  
  
I was really quite surprised to see Hermione sit with us, let alone ask for our help. "Of course we'll help you, sweetie!" I answered her. If she wanted fashion help, she definitely came to the right girls. She really was pretty. Long hair that we'd all seen look gorgeous when it was straight, honey and moss eyes that I'd seen Viktor Krum drown in, very tan skin, and a perfect body. I wish I had her chest! I told her she really shouldn't cover it up that way, but I guess she was embarrassed like Lavender used to be. Such a shame really.   
  
:::::: Lavender's POV ::::::  
  
Wow. Hermione asked us for help? It was something unheard of. Parvati and I shared a bunch of secret glances and then we started talking about what we should do with our new little project and if we knew anyone to hook her up with. We ran over the list of the usual suspects and Hermione just kind of sat there. I think she was nervous around Dean. He was flirting with her to try and break her out of her shell, but it seemed to push her in it farther.  
  
I don't know what I was thinking, asking Parvati and Lavender to help me with this. I hardly listened to what they were talking about because Dean kept bothering me. I didn't realize how shy I was around guys other than Ron and Harry. I talked to him guardedly but I really wanted to forget what I said and go find Harry and Ron. This was like torture. "Dean, I don't want to sound rude, but would you be so kind as to take your hand off of my knee so I can go and find the boys?" He just smiled and turned to Parvati. I think he told her I was scared because she came and sat next to me. "Don't turn back now, girl. You're already here and you know what you want now, so go for it!" Then she turned her back to me and got out her makeup bag.   
  
:::::: Dean's POV ::::::  
  
I didn't get why Hermione was so shy around me. I mean, Harry and Ron must have treated her just the way I was. If they didn't they were stupid. She was absolutely beautiful and she had no clue. It was kind of endearing but she had no confidence at all. Parvati and Lavender were busy looking for the right makeup for her so I just kept telling her not to get nervous and that she would be okay. She seemed to lighten up a bit after that. I had someone in mind that I knew was nursing a huge crush on her.   
  
:::::: Parvati's POV ::::::  
  
Lavender and I finally worked out the right combination of Hermione's skin tone and developed a color pallet suitable to it. She didn't need concealer at all because her skin was flawless (probably from never having worn makeup) but we put on a simple shimmer powder to neutralize shine. Then we dusted her cheeks with pale pink blush and put the same on her eyelids. We decided that black eyeliner would be too severe for her just yet so instead we opted for a creamy brown color on the top and bottom. Her thick patch of charcoal eyelashes only required clear gel to separate them. Finally, for her lips, we used dark chestnut balm to accent the mocha color of her skin. After the makeup was done, I had to let Lavender step in handle the clothes department.   
  
:::::: Lavender's POV ::::::  
  
After Parvati finished doing most of her makeup, I had Hermione stand up so I could evaluate her outfit. You could hardly make out her figure in the baggy sweater and jeans she wore. "What's your favorite color, girl?" I asked her, thinking of outfits she could wear. "Green," she said and it was perfect. With her complexion and eyes, green would be perfect...the only problem was Slytherin colors. I decided to overlook that for now and I waved my wand with a flourish to show off. The outfit that she was wearing now was stunning. Tight dark denim low rise flare jeans, chunky green platforms, and a shirt that was gorgeous on her curves. A silk shirt with an oval neckline that gathered under the breast line to go across and hit her hips at each side, leaving her midriff bare, with 3/4 sleeves that made a poof at the bottom of the shoulder and then gathered and hit her elbows with casual grace. An emerald choker, the same color as the shoes and blouse, completed the ensemble and as I stared and admired my work, Parvati ran to get her sister, Padma, for hair.  
  
:::::: Padma's POV ::::::  
  
Parvati barged into the Ravenclaw compartment and told me what was going on. I was very intrigued by Hermione's sudden desire to be girly. I agreed to help and I ran back to the Gryffindor section with Parvati as fast as I could. When we got there, I was stunned to see Hermione already so gorgeous. She looked fantastic with Parvati's makeup and Lavender's clothes but she definitely needed my help with her hair. It was very, very bushy and she had it done in a quick braid. I took her hair down and was amazed at its condition. It was perfectly healthy, she had no split ends or damage, and it was so soft. I ran an anti-frizz serum through it and combed it gently. I magically straitened it and it hung down to her waist. To give her hair some more volume, I wet it, ran mousse through it, and dried it again. When I was finished, Hermione looked like a supermodel strait from Milan. Our work was done.  
  
After sitting through an hour of the girls poking and prodding and using different magic with me, I finally got to see a mirror. I almost fainted when I saw myself. I actually looked pretty! I was so shocked I had to sit down again. "Are you ready to go see Harry and Ron, girl?" Parvati asked me and I nodded my head. The four of us walked back into Harry's compartment while Dean went to get one of his friends. When Harry and Ron saw me, their jaws hit the floor and even Ginny, who had been too busy snogging her boyfriend, Michael, to notice anything all day, looked up and gasped. I had the desired affect.   
  
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Well, there's chapter one. Chapter 2 is in progress. I'm not quite sure how long this story will be, pretty much it'll go till it's done. I'm still not sure who she'll be with at this particular juncture but I'm going to make a few obvious leads...which one shall it be? Keep reading to find out. :) Asta Teagan Gnosis 


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